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May 2017 Recap: Houston Astros

Standings & League Leaders

Around the League

On May 4, Miami sent outfielder Giancarlo Stanton to in-state rival Tampa Bay for a batch of prospects including pitchers Hank Stinson and Max Kranick, first baseman Jamal Lemmon, and outfielders Sam Mayr and Chris Hall. Stanton, who hit .372 with 6 HR in 78 Miami at-bats, has continued his big year with a .325 average and 6 dingers in 80 at-bats for the Rays.
In a more minor trade, RHP Kris Medlen was sent from Toronto to Washington. Medlen posted a 3-1 record and 3.61 ERA with the Blue Jays, but is 0-4 with a 8.85 ERA thus far for the Nats.

Cleveland is on fire! Strong pitching from starters Francisco Liriano (8-1, 2.12) and Danny Salazar (7-1, 2.57) and closer Bruce Rondon (15 saves, 2.29) has led to an AL-best team ERA. They also lead the league in stolen bases, with outfielder B.J. Boyd (19 for 27) at the top of the league leaderboard. Power hitting from DH Casey Gillaspie (.227 ISO) and 3B Lonnie Chisenhall (.265 ISO) certainly hasn’t hurt. With a 22-5 road record and 14-2 in one-run games, the Tribe looks like the team to beat in the AL Central.
Meanwhile, in the East and West Divisions, no clear leaders have stood out. With the exception of 10-36 Toronto, every team is within 6.5 games of first place.
In the NL, Colorado cooled off a bit, and every division is now a tight race with all fifteen teams within 4.5 games of their division lead. The Nationals seem to be on their way out of the East Division lead, as they have ridden the left arm of Gio Gonzalez (7-2, 2.23) for the most part. The MVP-caliber play of Bryce Harper, who has hit .376 with fourteen home runs, has helped, but the rest of the offense has struggled, including ice-cold outfielders Will Venable (.185, 4 SB) and Michael A. Taylor (.191, 15 RBI).

Milestones: Brewers OF Ryan Braun (300th HR, 5/24), Rangers 1B Prince Fielder (400th HR, 5/26).

Significant injuries: Giants LHP Edwin Escobar (torn UCL, 14 months), Athletics RHP Jarrod Parker (forearm, 3 months), Rangers RHP Neftali Feliz (shoulder, 4-5 months).

Astros News

May 6: Houston sent infielder Matt Duffy outright to Oklahoma City. Duffy, 29, had been at AAA, but was waived on the first of the month. To make room, fellow RedHawk Anthony Hewitt, a DH and corner outfielder, was designated for assignment. The move will remove Hewitt, who was hitting just .133 but had four walks and two steals in fourteen games (one start), from the 40-man roster. The 28-year-old is likely to clear waivers and be sent outright to a lower level of the minors.

May 12: Left fielder Robbie Grossman (sprained ankle) was placed on the 15-day DL. Having just recovered from a two-game absence caused by an oblique strain, Grossman went 1 for 3 to raise his average to .274 and collected his 13th RBI before being injured. He also has five home runs and five stolen bases this season. AAA left fielder Nick Williams was recalled to replace him on the roster and in the lineup. Williams, 23, acquired in a trade in late 2015 with Texas, was hitting .297 with 4 homers, 18 RBI and 12 steals in 33 games for the RedHawks.

May 13: Houston outrighted Anthony Hewitt to Single-A Quad Cities as part of a slew of moves involving Quad Cities and Double-A Corpus Christi. Hewitt will slot into the DH role. To make room, outfielder Raúl Erráez was waived. The 18-year-old Dominican prospect, who was hitting .303, is expected to clear waivers, as he is viewed as having a low ceiling.

May 19: After clearing waivers, OF Raúl Erráez was sent back to the River Bandits. He was designated for assignment on May 13, and will fill an “on-demand” role - “He will come in to hit, or run, or play the outfield whenever we need, but he’s really just serving as depth,” said manager Hector Torres.

May 23: Injured OF Charlie Blackmon was sent to AAA for a rehab assignment. Blackmon (hamstring) was the starter in center field before his injury, but Lewis Brinson has taken over that role, so Blackmon may end up sticking with the RedHawks longer than his twenty-game rehab stint. To make room for Blackmon in the Oklahoma City lineup, outfielder Austin Wates was called up to the majors. Wates, 28, got a cup of coffee in 2016, making nineteen appearances and batting .204, but after smashing AAA pitching to the tune of a .436/.483/.655 slash line, Houston management decided it might be a good idea to give him another shot. To make room, righty reliever Aaron Crow was sent to OKC. Crow, 30, is owed $2.5 million this season, but has only pitched once in the last month, a one-batter appearance. He was a good set-up man for Houston in 2016, with nine holds, two saves, and a 3.57 ERA in fifty-two appearances, and will take over for Mike Foltynewicz in the eighth-inning role down in AAA.

Stats

For Houston, Aroldis Chapman has been reliable as can be with no blown saves, and despite the continued struggles of #2 starter David Price (3-5, 5.31), other starters like Stephen Strasburg and Jarred Cosart have picked up the slack. Offensively, if you didn’t think Anthony Rizzo could get any hotter, he did, with a .373 average and five homers in the month of May, slightly up from .366 and four in April. A revolving door of young outfielders has stepped up after injuries to Charlie Blackmon last month and Robbie Grossman this month, with Slade Heathcott (7 HR, 12 SB), Stryker Trahan (.360), and Nick Williams (.339) picking up some slack and joining center fielder Lewis Brinson, who has put up insane defensive numbers including a 1.132 efficiency and +7.6 zone rating, rebounding from a -7.9 ZR last year. Blackmon, meanwhile, was sent to AAA to rehab, but some think he could wind up down there permanently, with those four and Austin Wates (1 for 6) in the majors. An in-depth review leads one to find that reliever Matty Ott, despite a 5.40 ERA, has stranded all seven runners he has inherited, and is having poor luck on flyballs (2.3 HR/9).

Batting Stats
Pitching Stats

Holy shit Cleveland!

Hey you're staying above .500.... For now

I looked at the trade screen for the fun of it and they had "no real weaknesses"...

the only problem, of course, is that everyone else is staying above .500.

How good are the prospects involved in that Stanton trade?

Excellent question.

Stinson, 20, is currently in Double-A with a 4.5 star potential.
Hall, 22, is also in Double-A, and has 4 star potential.
Kranick, 20, has 1.5 star potential and is pitching in Single-A.
Mayr, 23, and Lemmon, 19, are both in A-ball with one-star potentials each.

2017 MLB Draft

The MLB draft took place on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. The first overall pick belonged to Baltimore, who selected center fielder J.B. Woodman out of Rollins College, in Winter Park, Florida. He hit .357 with 11 home runs, and stole 35 bases in 41 attempts his senior year of college. The 22-year-old has limited experience in the field, but massive potential offensively, as he could be a great leadoff hitter. But enough of that. On to the Astros’ picks! All ten picks signed and were assigned to Single-A Quad Cities.

1st: RHP Jorge Anador (0.5, 4.5). The 22-year-old out of Boston College was nothing short of dominant his senior year, with 18 saves and a 1.91 ERA in 21 appearances. His fastball and slider both could turn out to be plus-plus pitches, his velocity is good (97-99 MPH), and he also has good movement on his pitches and, while it isn’t quite there yet, Anador has the potential for solid control. The last to sign, Anador agreed to a $230,000 bonus on the 17th of June.

2nd: UTIL Dan Sheehan (0.5, 1). At Manatee CC, Sheehan demonstrated his unique ability to play first and second base in addition to all three outfield positions - and he did it well. He hit .294 his senior year, but that was topped by a good walk rate (7.7%) and 37 steals. Sheehan, who is listed as a center fielder, received perfect defensive ratings from scouts at first, left, and right, while also drawing high praise for his ability in center and at second. His arm strength is phenomenal as well. A $1.17 million signing bonus was agreed to on June 15th.

3rd: LHP Keiran Frost (0.5, 0.5). The Sydney, Australia native pitched for Nashville Christian last year to the tune of a 2.50 ERA and excellent 10-2 record in 16 starts. He does appear to have come out a little early, and doesn’t show much potential at this point. A $190,000 bonus convinced him to sign on June 13.

4th: 1B Dave Edwards (0.5, 1). A 20-year-old from Fresno State, Edwards profiles as a potential DH. He can hit for a decent average (.290), but his combination of gap power (8 doubles), home run power (10 homers), and speed (11 steals) are more intriguing. His defense is a bit suspect, though. Edwards signed on the 10th with a half-million-dollar signing bonus.

5th: C Brad Johnston (0.5, 1). The former TCU Horned Frog comes to the pro ranks after a senior year in which he showed off his knack for getting the best out of pitchers. His offense is average across-the-board, and he does not have much speed. Johnston is more than willing to lay down a bunt or draw a walk for the team, though. Johnston signed on the 9th, receiving a $240,000 bonus.

6th: C Eric Curran (0.5, 1). An alum of Venice High in LA, Curran hit .455/.491/.683 his senior year with fifteen steals and eleven doubles in just 23 games. Curran is an atypical speedy catcher who plays questionable defense and doesn’t strike out (or walk) much. (No bonus)

7th: LHP Dave Riddle (0.5, 0.5). A graduate of Quaker Valley High School in Leetsdale, PA, Riddle is a workhorse. He threw almost a hundred innings (99.2) over just twelve starts, good for an average of 8.3! Riddle’s senior year was highlighted by a 2.26 ERA to go with a decent 6-3 record. (No bonus)

8th: P/SS Conan Thompson (0.5, 1). The Pet Charter (PA) graduate comes to Quad Cities after a senior year in which he hit .438/.505/.562 with fifteen stolen bases in twenty-two games. In addition, he drew 12 walks against only 8 strikeouts on the year. Thompson also pitched, with a 2.68 ERA in ten games (six starts). The team, intrigued by his unique two-way ability, is giving him a look first as a shortstop, but could slide him to the mound if needed. (No bonus)

9th: RHP Ken Colbert (0.5, 0.5). The former Oregon State Beaver reported to Quad Cities. He started 20 games for OSU in 2017, finishing 5-9 with a 5.69 ERA. A flyball pitcher, Colbert’s best ability may be his stamina or bunting. Other than that, he seems to be just another arm to throw out there. (No bonus)

10th: LHP Doug Holbrook (0.5, 0.5). The Michigan alum pitched in nineteen games (all starts), with a 4-9 record and 5.56 ERA. He looks a lot like Colbert - limited potential, no velocity… You get the picture. This guy’s a pure innings eater, though, averaging 6.6 innings per start. (No bonus)

I can guarantee you that nobody of importance has ever come out of Rollins College

Don't you live in Winter Park??? That's pretty neat.

I have a good friend that goes to Rollins

I live close to Winter Park, maybe 10-12 miles away. We're the other Winter city.

"Winter" "Florida"

I don't see the connection

Winter Haven?

Okay, the other, other Winter city

Astros Pull Off Three Blockbusters

It is July 13th and the Houston Astros are only four games back of the AL West lead. We didn’t think we would be saying that this time of year. Houston management apparently thinks they should be in the lead, as they executed a trio of big trades to shore up any holes they might have had before.

The first trade, with Milwaukee, seems to be a cost-cutting move, sending veteran pitchers David Price and Aaron Crow and shortstop Zack Cozart as well as minor-leaguers RHP Zach Petrick and C Bryan Holaday to the Brewers in exchange for left-handed reliever Boone Logan, infielder Scooter Gennett, and minor-league pitchers Miguel De Los Santos and Jed Bradley as well as former Astros farmhand, catcher Carlos E. Perez. Logan and Gennett were activated, De Los Santos and Perez were designated for assignment, and Bradley was sent to Double-A. To take the rotation spot of Price, left-hander Carlos Rodon, two starts removed from a no-hitter and coming off of a five-inning one-hit shutout performance, was recalled from Oklahoma City (AAA).

The second trade involved the San Diego Padres. The 2016 #1 overall pick, shortstop Parker Kelly, as well as 2015 2nd-round reliever Jesús Medina and starting pitcher Tim Cooney were sent to San Diego for a trio of major-league-ready prospects - outfielder Hunter Renfroe, All-Star first baseman Dan Vogelbach, and All-Star/2014 Astros second-rounder, shortstop Nick Gordon. All three were activated to the MLB roster.

The third and final trade sent pitchers Jeff Locke and Josh Edgin and infielders Joey Gallo, Ian Dukes, and Nick Perez to Arizona for All-Star starter Patrick Corbin, third baseman Garrett Weber, and approximately $8 million in cash.

Other Astros roster moves today: Outfielder Shane Selman was signed to a minor-league contract, and 1B Stefan Welch and RHP Jose Cisnero were designated for assignment.

Also of note: 1B Anthony Rizzo represented the Astros at the All-Star game, drawing a walk in an eventual 6-1 loss to the National League!

note: this goes before those trades

June 2017 Recap: Houston Astros

Standings & League Leaders

Around the League

Trades: 6/16, 3B Hunter Dozier traded from KC to DET…6/18, OF Desmond Jennings traded from CIN to SD…6/23, LF Alex Gordon traded from ARI to KC…6/29, C Matt Wieters traded from TB to ATL for 2B Tyler Pastornicky, 2B Vincent Ramos (4* POT)…6/29, LHP Drew Smyly traded from DET to NYM…6/30, LHP Tim Collins traded from PHI to CWS…

There’s really not much to say here. Outside of the AL Central, which Cleveland seems to have on lockdown, every other division is in a tight race for first - only Toronto, out of those five divisions, seems to have no chance to win the division, as they are currently 19 games back with a 20-53 (.274!) record.

Milestones: Twins 1B Joe Mauer (2000th hit, 6/25), Nationals SP Gio Gonzalez (no-hitter, 6/4), Cardinals CF Oscar Taveras (cycle, 6/7), Twins 3B Colin Moran (6-hit game, 6/11), Orioles RF Dariel Alvarez (3-HR game, 6/30)

Significant injuries: Phillies LHP Jesse Biddle (torn UCL, 12 months), Padres RHP Josh Johnson (torn UCL, 13 months), Athletics RHP Edwin Jackson (torn flexor tendon, 12-13 months), Giants RHP Kyle Crick (torn flexor tendon, 11-12 months), Reds RHP Mike Robinson (stretched elbow ligament, 10-11 months), Giants CF A.J. Pollock (torn labrum, 4 months), Red Sox LHP Antonio Bastardo (torn flexor tendon, 12 months)

Astros News

June 5: Outfielder Robbie Grossman (ankle sprain) was activated from the 15-day DL. To make room on the roster, fellow outfielder Austin Wates (1 for 6) was sent back to AAA Oklahoma City, where he started the year.

June 9: Catcher Brian Holberton was designated for assignment, and minor-league outfielder Jon Kemmer was granted his release. Kemmer, 26, hit .336 with 8 homers in 35 games at the Single-A level this season, but struggled in AA with only a .176 average and one home run in 20 games. Kemmer had been with the organization since 2013, and spent most of his time playing for Quad Cities, though he did play in 150 AA games and 22 AAA games.

June 12: Reliever Carter Capps was designated for assignment. Capps, 26, was acquired from Miami on waivers in 2015, and has pitched in 31 games for the Astros. He has also spent time in AAA, with 30 games under his belt since being claimed by Houston. Capps had pitched in seven such games this year with a 7.20 ERA. In addition, catcher Brian Holberton was assigned to Single-A Quad Cities.

June 18: The Astros and Red Sox struck yet another trade today, as Houston sent outfielders Charlie Blackmon and Arjan Davidse, infielder Xavier Turner, and pitcher Cipriano Martínez to Boston for 24-year-old left-hander Henry Owens. Blackmon, 30, started the year as the Astros’ starting center fielder, but an injury forced him to Triple-A. He is owed $2.1 million through the end of 2018. Davidse, 19, an international free agent signing out of the Dutch Antillean in 2015, and Turner, 23, a fourth-round selection out of Vanderbilt in 2015, had been struggling at both the Single-A and Double-A levels. Martínez, also an international free agent signing, had struggled in his first 22 professional games since coming over from the Dominican, with a 2-13 record and 7.91 ERA in 21 starts and one relief appearance, all for Quad Cities (A). He has since been released by the Boston organization. Owens, 24, is a highly thought-of prospect, who pitched in 28 MLB games (3 starts) last year with a 3.07 ERA, and in 14 this year with a 3.00 ERA, and a 4-5 combined record. He will remain in the majors, with swing man Zach Eflin (1-1, 5.40 in six games) sent to Oklahoma City (AAA), where he will continue to work out of the ‘pen.

June 19: First baseman Anthony Rizzo led the Astros to an 11-7 win over the White Sox. The home fans were treated to quite a show, as Rizzo hit three home runs, with six RBI and four runs scored. He hit all three homers in the first four innings, then was walked in his final two plate appearances.

June 23: RHP Carter Capps was sent to AA Corpus Christi after having been DFA’d on the 12th.

June 24: RHP Matty Ott was sent to AAA Oklahoma City, and RHP Aaron Crow was recalled to take his place. Ott, 27, had a 5.27 ERA in ten games for Houston. Crow, 30, had a 6.75 ERA in four games for Houston earlier this year, and a 1.86 ERA in nine games at OKC since being assigned there on May 23.

Stats

Our Astros are hanging tight in the middle of a tough division. To the surprise of many, David Price (6-7, 4.76) has been the team’s worst starter, but he has rebounded well from a poor April. In the bullpen, Aroldis Chapman finally blew a save, but has converted his other 18 opportunities. The other Chapman on the team, fellow left-hander Kevin, has posted a sparkling 1.52 ERA to go with five holds out of the set-up role. First baseman and MLB WAR leader Anthony Rizzo (.358, 16 HR) cooled down a bit this month, with only a .337 average to go with seven home runs. Utility infielder Brock Holt has been great off the bench with a .379 average in 21 games (seven starts). With 65 team stolen bases, Houston is second in the American League, and is also second in slugging percentage (.428), OPS (.760), and opposing average (.240).

Batting Stats
Pitching Stats